Naruto season 1

Lore & Background

The season originally aired on TV Tokyo and its affiliates from October 3, 2002, to May 28, 2003, consisting of 26 episodes. The English dub aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami in the United States and YTV's Bionix in Canada from September 10, 2005, to May 27, 2006. Later, the episodes ran on Adult Swim's relaunched Toonami block in uncut format from December 1, 2012, to November 30, 2013, after which it was removed to make room for Naruto: Shippuden. The series returned to Adult Swim on May 31, 2024, as part of the Toonami Rewind weekday afternoon block, which dissolved on December 27, 2024, and re-aired on the traditional Toonami block beginning January 12, 2025.

Reader's Guide

The first season of Naruto established the foundational story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village striving to become Hokage. Directed by Hayato Date and produced by Pierrot and TV Tokyo, the season ran for 35 episodes in Japan from October 2002 to May 2003. Its English dub premiered in 2005 on Cartoon Network and YTV, later airing uncut on Adult Swim's Toonami from 2012 to 2013. The season's home media releases included twelve VHS and DVD volumes in Japan by Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2003, and nine DVD compilations by Viz Media in 2006–2007, with the first compilation nominated at the American Anime Awards for best package design. Four pieces of theme music were used in the Japanese version: openings 'Rocks' by Hound Dog (episodes 1–26) and 'Haruka Kanata' by Asian Kung-Fu Generation (episodes 27–35), and closings 'Wind' by Akeboshi (episodes 1–26) and 'Harmonia' by Rythem (episodes 27–35). The English dub used 'Rise' by Jeremy Sweet and Ian Nickus as both opening and closing theme.

Did You Know?

• The season consists of 26 episodes, airing in Japan from October 3, 2002, to May 28, 2003.
• The first DVD compilation by Viz Media was nominated at the American Anime Awards for best package design.
• The Japanese opening theme for episodes 1–25 is 'Rocks' by Hound Dog, and episode 26 uses 'Haruka Kanata' by Asian Kung-Fu Generation.

Production & Narrative Foundation

The first season of Naruto: Shippuden was helmed by director Hayato Date, with production handled by the animation studio Pierrot and broadcast by TV Tokyo. Drawing from Part II of Masashi Kishimoto's manga, the season picks up the story two and a half years after the original Naruto anime concluded. By this point, Naruto Uzumaki and his teammates have grown into teenagers, and the central narrative thrust involves their mission to rescue Gaara, who now holds the title of Fifth Kazekage, from the hands of the criminal syndicate known as Akatsuki. This time-skip approach allowed the series to reframe its characters at a new stage of development while maintaining continuity with the earlier run. The season's broadcast window spanned from February through October 2007 on TV Tokyo, giving it a steady seasonal run that anchored the Shippuden franchise in Japanese television.

International Broadcast Journey

The season's path to English-speaking audiences unfolded across multiple years and platforms. In the United States, Disney XD carried the premiere run from October 28, 2009, through April 21, 2010, introducing the reimagined series to a younger demographic. Nearly four years later, Adult Swim's Toonami programming block picked up the season, airing episodes from January 5 to August 10, 2014, which shifted the viewing context toward an older, late-night audience. This dual-broadcast strategy meant the same episodes reached two very different viewer pools separated by several years. The staggered timing also allowed the home-video market to mature and for the broader Shippuden catalog to build momentum before the Toonami run. For many Western fans, the Disney XD airing served as their first exposure to the sequel series, while the Toonami slot became a nostalgic touchstone for those who discovered the franchise in their late teens or early twenties.

Home Media & Regional Packaging

The physical release of the season varied considerably by region. In Japan, the eight-disc DVD set rolled out between August 1, 2007, and March 5, 2008, marketed under the title Kazekage Rescue (Kazekage Dakkan). The seventh volume carried a bonus feature based on the series' second ending, a short piece called Hurricane! "Konoha Academy" Chronicles. North American audiences received eight individual DVD volumes spanning September 29, 2009, to April 6, 2010, with the final disc also bundling episodes from the second season. Viz Media offered an alternative three-box collection between January 26 and August 3, 2010, again sharing the third box with season two material. Across the Channel, Manga Entertainment handled the UK market with three volumes released from June 14 to October 4, 2010, followed by a comprehensive 52-episode box set on March 7, 2011.

Musical Identity & Film Crossover

The season established its sonic identity through five distinct musical themes: two opening tracks and three closing tracks. The first opening, "Hero's Come Back!!" performed by Nobodyknows+, accompanied episodes one through twenty-nine, before "Distance" by Long Shot Party took over for the remainder of the season. On the ending side, Home Made Kazoku's "Nagareboshi (Shooting Star)" served episodes one through seventeen, Alüto's "Michi (To You All)" covered episodes eighteen through twenty-nine, and Little by Little's "Kimi Monogatari" closed out the final stretch. The season also intersected with the franchise's first theatrical film, Naruto Shippuden the Movie, which hit Japanese screens on August 4, 2007. Notably, broadcast versions of episodes twenty-four through twenty-seven wove scenes from that film into both the opening and ending sequences while retaining the original musical scores, creating a brief but memorable crossover between the television and theatrical products.